The Word of God is the inexhaustible source of life for the Church. From the earliest days of the Church, the Holy Spirit has strengthened men and women to share in the mission of spreading the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday marks our annual opportunity to celebrate those who have generosously persevered in the labor of passing on the faith to children and adults.
The theme this year The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church highlights the importance of the Word of God in our past, present, and future. The phrase "the Word of God" has many meanings for Catholics. It refers to
The pre-existent Word, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God
God's Word at creation, through whom everything that exists came into being
Jesus himself, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us
Sacred Scripture, God's inspired Word
Church Tradition, which faithfully echoes the Word of God to every generation
Not only is this theme part of our catechetical year, but it also builds on the work of the bishops' synod in Rome as they reflect on the same theme with the Holy Father and their brother bishops. And all of this is being done in the context of the Year of St. Paul, the great apostle and preacher of the early Church.
This issue of To Teach draws on this theme and highlights ways in which we can bring the Word of God into the life and mission of our schools, classrooms, and homes in concrete and practical ways.
Evaluate the ways in which the Bible and Word of God are displayed in your school building. Are a sufficient number and well-kept copies of the Bible available in the library, chapel, and religion classrooms? Are common and quotable quotes from Scripture hung on banners throughout the school? Are students encouraged to read the Bibles and memorize passages?
Enshrine a large copy of the Bible or a ritual edition of the Lectionary in a specially designated place in the school. Post the citations for the readings of the day near the Bible. Using colored ribbons or special bookmarks, mark the pages for each day's readings and encourage students and teachers to read the Scriptures during the day.
Ask members of the school board, PTA/PTO, Knights of Columbus, or other fraternal organizations to donate one gift edition of the Bible per grade. Pray over the Bibles during the opening school year Mass or prayer service, dedicating it as a symbol of the school's commitment to sharing the Word of God in and out of the classroom. Make the gift editions available to religion teachers to use in their classrooms.
Write "thank you" notes to the parents, grandparents, or legal guardians of your students for the many ways in which they hand on their faith to their children and for their support of the catechists, teachers, and staff who guide their children's faith journey in school.
Celebrate the Year of St. Paul by choosing ten of your most famous quotes from St. Paul's letters (Romans, 1 or 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon) and teaching them to your students. Give a prize to every student who can memorize the quotes and give an example of how to apply each one in daily life.
Host a weekly "Letters from St. Paul" quiz where the winner has the opportunity to take the gift edition Bible home for the weekend to pray with their family. Have your students read a specific chapter from St. Paul from the New American Bible (a printed version or from the web) and give them a short 3-5 question quiz on the chapter. More challenging quiz questions could include completing quotes from the chapter or starting the next verse.
Select a quote from Sunday's readings that makes living like a disciple of Jesus in our world today challenging. Invite your students to bring in pictures and articles from the newspaper, magazines, and Internet that show how people are are responding to the challenge and living as Jesus showed us.
Start each week with a story of faith found in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. Highlight where and how God was actively and powerfully present in the life of the person and how that person responded to God. How can that person be a model to you of how to make God's word come to life in the world?
Ask each student to pick one of the psalms in their Bible (you may want to steer them toward those that are more well-known and used at Mass). Have them read the psalm quietly and select a short verse that is meaningful to them. Using colored pens, markers, or crayons, have them print out the verse on a slip of paper (2" x 6"), note what psalm and what verse it is from, fold the slip, and put it in a decorated box. Each day, draw one slip out of the box to begin prayer. To take this one step further, after reading the psalm verse, go through the class, asking everyone to add a verse, then end with a Glory Be.
Using the family Bible, read one of the readings of the day as part of bedtime prayer. Write down words or phrases that were especially meaningful on sticky notes and put them on the page of the Bible. Or jot them down in a family Scripture journal that you keep with your family Bible.
With each of your children individually, identify someone in the Bible that your child admires, is interested in, or is like him or her. Schedule time to read the Scripture verses with your child, and discuss that person's faith, their choices, their relationship with God, and how they acted toward others. Some favorite Scripture characters include Abraham, Ruth, Peter, Mary and Martha, John, and Paul.
Celebrate Night Prayer, part of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Church. This brief, communal liturgical celebration is well-suited for families. The readings, responses, and songs include traditional prayers like the Glory Be and hymns that can be sung to familiar "by-heart" melodies or spoken.
On a napkin or notecard, send a "Scripture" note to your child in his or her lunch box or school each day. Choose verses that affirm them as a gift of God's creation, challenge them to act more Christ-like, or comfort them.
"Forming Adult Faith" includes suggestions from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA) on how to promote ongoing faith formation among the adults in your school community.
"Compendium Corner" usually provides a list of questions and answers in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that are related to this month’s topic. The following questions relate to this month's topic.
9. What is the full and definitive stage of God's Revelation?
13. In what ways does Apostolic Tradition occur?
14. What is the relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture?
18. Why does Sacred Scripture teach the truth?
19. How is Sacred Scripture to be read?
24. What role does Sacred Scripture play in the life of the Church?
277. How is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist carried out?
429. How does the Church nourish the moral life of a Christian?
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the foundations of Catholic faith. So, focus your attention on two or three questions this month. Choose questions on topics that are of great interest, that you struggle with and want to understand better, or that you find arise in your classroom repeatedly.
Review the questions and answers.
Consider how to use them in the coming year as part of your lesson plan.
Develop learning activities that will encourage you and your students to learn the teaching by heart (memorization)
